Shattered Reflection
by RoswellianKitten
Summary: Maria has to face the harsh realities... Can she overcome it, or will she succumb?


            The rustling of clothes brought the exhausted girl wide awake. She sat up, pulling the sheets up to cover her nakedness. She hated this time of night; having to return back to the harsh reality.

            She watched as her lover began dressing, not even sparing her a glance. It was always the same… He would call her up t chat, but she knew the real reason he called. And she was too weak to refuse him or her body; so she inevitably caved and invited him over.

            They rarely spared the time to talk, instead exchanging normal pleasantries and then getting down to business. Ever since he broke up with her, the moments of satisfaction was the only time that she felt alive. But it was also killing her inside; something she refused to acknowledge.

            Finally he finished lacing up his shoes, keys in hand, and he turned towards her. The pain ripped through her as she stared back at his face. There was no emotion in his eyes, except for impatience. He got what he wanted, and now he couldn't wait to leave.

            She clutched the sheets closer, failing miserably to shield herself from the torment. She was love's whore…

            "I'll talk to you later." With those words, he walked out of the door. The silence was shattered at the soft click of the door shutting. Only then did she lose control, just like all the other times. The harsh sobs racked her entire body, over-whelming her.

            How could she go on like this?

            He stood outside her door, his hands clenched into fists. He knew that this whole situation couldn't last much longer. He would have to break it off.

            It was getting harder to remain unemotional and detached. Especially seeing her sitting there all sleep-mussed and covered in nothing but a sheet. The emotions were still there, no matter how much he denied them.

            But a relationship – at least a long-term relationship – just wasn't what he was after. He had an image to maintain; an image of being a ladies' man… She didn't even know about the other women he used in the same manner. With them, it was simple to walk away. There were no feelings except for passion. That's what he was looking for.

            He was just going to have to break away from the one woman who had such a hold over him. It would break her heart, but was what he had to do. With that thought, he walked down the hall, missing the final meltdown…

            She stayed up all night, too broken-hearted to fall asleep, but too tired to do anything else but sit in the same position she had been in when he left. She didn't even notice ore care about the discomfort she was in.

            There was a knock at the door, but it barely registered in her shattered mind. Not until the door swung open, and her friend and band mate walked in and gasped. The newcomer ran over and wrapped her arms around the mute girl.

            "Maria? What's wrong?" Liz Parker sat down on the bed beside Maria DeLuca and hugged her close. She knew that she was going through some rough times, but this was the first time she ever saw her bestfriend fall apart. What could have happened to cause this? What had Michael done to hurt her friend even more than his callous display at being macho? Breaking up with her, and then flaunting his new floozy a few days later at the Crashdown Café… She could seriously hurt Michael for all of this.

            "…nothing.." Maria's voice was so faint, that if Liz wasn't sitting next to her, she would have missed it. She knew that Maria was lying, but she didn't want to push her into talking. She continued to sit there, rocking Maria in her arms, letting the silence surround them both.

            After moments of comfort, Maria finally pulled away and pasted a fake smile on her face. She scrubbed the palms of her hands across her eyes, rubbing the grit from her eyes. She gave a small laugh and pushed herself off the bed, forgetting about her stiff muscles until she collapsed on the floor in agony. Liz rushed over to Maria's side, concern written on her face.

            "Are you okay?"

            "Yeah… just my body is… stiff and sore." Maria gritted her teeth, focusing all of her limited attentions on not screaming out. Liz began massaging her arms and legs, trying to get circulation back into them. Finally, when it was tolerable to move, Maria cautiously stood up with help from Liz, and then walked slowly into her bathroom. Liz followed close behind to keep an eye on her, growing more worried by the minutes.

            "We should cancel the show… I'm sure they'll understand. We'll just say you are sick."

            "We're not canceling…" Maria looked at Liz in the mirror, avoiding her own visage as much as possible. She didn't want to see how hideous she looked after her night of crying and sleeplessness. 

            "But Maria…" Liz's words were cut off when the door to the bathroom shut in her face. She frowned and shook her head, walking back out into Maria's bedroom to wait for her to finish getting ready for their gig that night. It was a very important gig… It could be their biggest break ever.


End file.
